Refrigeration systems are currently commonplace in commercial and residential buildings, and a variety of vehicles including, for example, automobiles, aircrafts, watercrafts, and trains. Over time, the refrigerant included in refrigeration systems is depleted and/or contaminated. As such, in order to maintain the overall efficiency and efficacy of a refrigeration system, the refrigerant included therein may be periodically replaced or recharged.
Refrigerant recovery units or carts are used in connection with the service and maintenance of refrigeration systems, such as air conditioning (A/C) systems. The refrigerant recovery unit connects to the A/C system to recover refrigerant out of the system and separate out oil and contaminants from the refrigerant in order to recharge or replace refrigerant into the A/C system.
Currently available processes for replacing the refrigerant contained in air conditioning systems typically include, evacuating the refrigerant contained in an A/C system, either, charging refrigerant evacuated or transferring new refrigerant into a refrigerant recovery unit storage tank, and transferring the refrigerant from the refrigerant recovery unit into the A/C system. In order to estimate how much refrigerant has been transferred to the A/C system, the refrigerant recovery unit typically includes a refrigerant container that is weighed before and after some refrigerant has been transferred into the A/C system.
The ability to obtain accurate weight measurements to get an accurate assessment of how much refrigerant entered the A/C system is important to provide proper servicing. Inaccurate weight measurements result in inaccurate assessments of how much refrigerant actually entered the A/C system during the charge, which can result in undercharging or overcharging the A/C system causing it to underperform.
As a consequence of the foregoing, a need exists for a refrigerant recovery unit and methods associated therewith that can improve the charge accuracy of a refrigerant recovery unit.